electric News Updates

Ryder System Inc. announced it has started to take delivery of 125 medium-duty all-electric panel vans for rent or lease, calling the vehicles the first of their kind in North America.

Daimler AG is jumping the gun on Tesla Inc. by showing off a battery-powered heavy-duty truck weeks before the California electric-car maker’s own planned unveiling, in a sign of the growing rivalry between the companies.

XL Hybrids Inc. won $22 million in venture capital funding led by units of Exelon Corp. and Ikea Group to accelerate sales of its hybrid-electric delivery trucks.

Volkswagen AG is flanking its push into electric cars with plans to roll out battery-powered commercial vehicles targeted at urban areas as growing public concerns about air quality boost demand.

Tesla Inc. pushed back the reveal of its semi-truck by three weeks as CEO Elon Musk focuses on boosting production of the cheaper sedan that the electric-car maker is counting on to dramatically increase sales.

The internal combustion engine’s days may be numbered in California, where officials are mulling whether a ban on sales of polluting autos is needed to achieve long-term targets for cleaner air.

Daimler AG’s truck division is investing in Israeli battery-technology startup StoreDot Ltd., tapping into a supplier that seeks to enable electric vehicles to recharge as quickly as combustion-powered models can refuel.

Daimler Trucks is trying to gain a foothold in the nascent electric-truck market with short-range haulers that can make New York City’s clogged streets cleaner and quieter.

Silicon Valley automaker Tesla is tentatively set to reveal its electric semi-truck in October, CEO Elon Musk said

Parked east of the California Capitol steps was a long line of vehicles as clean as they were large, including a yellow school bus, a UPS delivery truck and an AC Transit bus — all with electric or hybrid motors.